Hallowarrior Review
“Hallowarrior” is perfect for the Halloween season.
Written and directed by indie filmmaker Ben Sottak, “Hallowarrior” is a Halloween themed post-apocalyptic film. Clocking in at a mere 78 minutes, the story follows a lone survivor (a teen girl named Pumpkin) of a disease epidemic who stays at her family home in a rural town. In her youth she enjoyed Halloween with her family and she keeps that spirit alive even in the end of the world. She goes as far as to search for Halloween decor when searching for supplies and food which has become scarce (aside from candy). On Halloween, Pumpkin puts out a distress call hoping to meet anyone else having been alone for 4 years. She even makes her house into a haunted house hoping that someone will show up for Halloween. She gets her wish, but she meets a group of scavengers (including Talia, Royce, and Wendy) who are not what they seem. Now, Pumpkin has to fight for survival, but she might get some help along the way.
Normally October is chock full of new horror titles, but this October has been pretty mild in that department. Thankfully, “Hallowarrior” comes at exactly the right time. The Halloween themed horror flick plays like a cross between “The Strangers” and “Home Alone.” It’s a no frills thriller with tension, atmosphere, gore, eerie cinematography by Steven Jacob Russell, and plenty of characterization. While it wraps up a bit too quickly in the end, it’s nonetheless an effective and compelling story about survival, loneliness, the need for connections, family, and moving on in life. There’s also several fun unique concepts sprinkled about like the notion of a haunted house home invasion.
The cast makes it work. Milly Shapiro of “Hereditary” fame does a commendable job leading the tale. She brings a lot of layers to her lonely, tragic, and traumatized character of Pumpkin. Shannyn Sossamon (who looks like Robin Wright in this) is creepy calm as the scavenger Thalia. Horror indie veteran A.J. Bowen shines as Royce while Ajani Russell stands out as the teen scavenger Wendy who has been through a lot of trauma herself.
“Hallowarrior” releases Oct. 16th on Shudder.
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